Onel Must Stay

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

Also the bloke is probably the only one who inarguably gives 100% each game, who loves it here at NCFC no question, and I’m sure that enthusiasm and love must be great for the rest of the team and staff to have around the club. The team would be thoroughly miserable without him (or even more so). He has a Norwich city tattoo ffs! Keep him keep him keep him!

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

Love Onel. So all for keeping him around. But this post is evidence of how far the on field side of this club has slid in a couple of years. A fringe player then who struggled to break into the side is now one of the best we have. And we wonder why the success has gone…

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,295]

8 hours ago, Yobocop said:

Thing is huckerby was more consistent and scored way more goals 

hernandez by comparison is very inconsistent and rarely scores 

love the bloke but wouldn’t be that disappointed if he wasn’t around next season. 

Who you gonna get on a free transfer to replace him? And if we don’t get someone in, who in squad currently is anywhere near as effective? 

[Feedthewolf 4,865]

If he had consistent end product on top of his existing skill set, he'd be playing for a much bigger team than Norwich. It's often the case with tricky wingers, they can't all be Arjen Robben. He's quick, tricky, strong as an ox and as loyal as a dog. If we somehow sneak up then maybe we can let him go out on a high, but at this level he is still a weapon – even if he misfires frequently, he can still do damage. And although 'being a good character in the dressing room' is often shorthand for 'crap at football' (Hugill), his infectious positivity and love for the club and city has to count in his favour.

Right behind your campaign, @TeemuVanBasten... let's make it happen! A new song would be great if anyone's feeling inventive...

[hogesar 9,719]

It's really easy to say no, we need to improve on him.

But we have tried. We've signed Placheta, Rashica, and Tzolis. The latter two come with all the credentials and reputation that makes you think they would be those step-ups too. So far both have delivered far less for this club than Onel at 4x the cost. 

[Robert N. LiM 4,464]

14 minutes ago, hogesar said:

It's really easy to say no, we need to improve on him.

But we have tried. We've signed Placheta, Rashica, and Tzolis. The latter two come with all the credentials and reputation that makes you think they would be those step-ups too. So far both have delivered far less for this club than Onel at 4x the cost. 

The Cuban Tettey

[Capt. Pants 4,271]

Trouble is if Onel gets a contract now all the rest who are out of contract this summer will want one as well. Might cause a bit of unrest.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

1 hour ago, Capt. Pants said:

Trouble is if Onel gets a contract now all the rest who are out of contract this summer will want one as well. Might cause a bit of unrest.

Well we know that Pukki was offered one so he won't.

If you mean that Dowell, Byram, and McGovern will get the hump.... then, well, two of those are out injured and the other has played 1 cup game in 2 years, so "oh well". 

Edited March 17, 2023 by TeemuVanBasten

[king canary 7,654]

1 hour ago, Capt. Pants said:

Trouble is if Onel gets a contract now all the rest who are out of contract this summer will want one as well. Might cause a bit of unrest.

Would be odd not to give him a new contract for fear of upsetting others? Wagner can quite clearly point out that he's earned it of late.

[wcorkcanary 4,337]

11 hours ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

don’t understand how you can concede that he is the ‘best of a poor bunch’ but still want him to leave 

Its quite simple, ...... i dont think he's good enough to be kept on, there are others id get rid if before him but I'd be looking to upgrade  in most if not all positions. The OT was ' Onel must stay' ...i dont agree, whats so hard to understand, or is this just an ecbo chamber for TvBs latest hobby horse...at least its" let's keep " rather than " lets sack" this week. Which is a pleasant change

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

1 hour ago, wcorkcanary said:

Its quite simple, ...... i dont think he's good enough to be kept on, there are others id get rid if before him but I'd be looking to upgrade  in most if not all positions. The OT was ' Onel must stay' ...i dont agree, whats so hard to understand, or is this just an ecbo chamber for TvBs latest hobby horse...at least its" let's keep " rather than " lets sack" this week. Which is a pleasant change

I understand we should look to upgrade all positions. But as wide options we have Hernandez, Dowell, Idah, Tzolis, Rowe and out on loan we have Rashica, Sinani, Placheta.

As you said yourself Onel is the best of a bad bunch. And it is a bad bunch. But why let Onel go for nothing when we have nothing better ahead of him? 

It’s likely that a lot of the above players will be going through the summer already, which should free up some funds to upgrade the team and hopefully sign some players who can step in as first choice ahead of the current options. But we clearly aren’t going to go out and buy 4-5 new wide options, and we will need strength in depth, so why not keep someone around who is super effective off the bench, puts in 100% every week and loves the club inside out? There is nothing to lose.

What are the pros and cons of keeping his versus letting him go for nothing? I can think of plenty of pros but not really any cons? 

[repman 635]

If he's out for a while then it's the perfect time to get a read on Tzolis. It would be the same for Rowe but if he's picked up another injury then that's probably it for the season for him.

At this moment in time I'd give Onel a new deal (Dowell first though) but would limit it to 1 year max, he's already 30 and I'd have even more concerns if he started to lose the burst he currently has.

[wcorkcanary 4,337]

Just now, Hank shoots Skyler said:

I understand we should look to upgrade all positions. But as wide options we have Hernandez, Dowell, Idah, Tzolis, Rowe and out on loan we have Rashica, Sinani, Placheta.

As you said yourself Onel is the best of a bad bunch. And it is a bad bunch. But why let Onel go for nothing when we have nothing better ahead of him? 

It’s likely that a lot of the above players will be going through the summer already, which should free up some funds to upgrade the team and hopefully sign some players who can step in as first choice ahead of the current options. But we clearly aren’t going to go out and buy 4-5 new wide options, and we will need strength in depth, so why not keep someone around who is super effective off the bench, puts in 100% every week and loves the club inside out? There is nothing to lose.

What are the pros and cons of keeping his versus letting him go for nothing? I can think of plenty of pros but not really 

I don't actually disagree with much of what you say. Other than he's  worth  a new contract, unless  we then loan him out and sell him at Christmas. Hes a lovely guy  and all that but just  wouldn't be in my plans if i was boss ( i turned the job down and that's how we ended up with Dean Smith) .  

[ridgeman 135]

I think the state of our wide attackers sums up the mess Webber has made of recruitment.

[chicken 2,640]

4 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

Trouble is if Onel gets a contract now all the rest who are out of contract this summer will want one as well. Might cause a bit of unrest.

Hahahaha... I mean, oh well. Getting the "hump" is hardly going to win them a new contract is it?

[chicken 2,640]

9 minutes ago, wcorkcanary said:

I don't actually disagree with much of what you say. Other than he's  worth  a new contract, unless  we then loan him out and sell him at Christmas. Hes a lovely guy  and all that but just  wouldn't be in my plans if i was boss ( i turned the job down and that's how we ended up with Dean Smith) .  

I think it depends on a lot of things. Firstly we'd need to sign someone who offers the same skill set AND is better. I wouldn't say Dowell/Tzolis are the same for example, Rashica possibly. It also depends upon how the squad will look next season - who will still be here and who might be loaned to get more experience.

Finally, some folks have touched on the squad aspect with what he brings in attitude and positivity... There is of course, another edge to that. Anyone else think that Onel has helped with Sara and Nunez coming and settling in? If we are to be recruiting more from the 'Americas', especially Central and South America, Onel could be an important ingredient to helping them settle in.

I think at the very least, he is a handy squad player at this level. He was also one of the few to come out of the "project restart" with any real credit. Folks have written him off due to being injured and loaned out for the two prior seasons to this - but one has to remember we had Cantwell and Buendia ahead of him at the time, and then Rashica and Sargent.

With Sargent being identified as a striker now. Buendia and Cantwell already moved on. Rashica likely to move on in the summer. Placheta not as good as him and possibly moved on as well. We would be left with Tzolis, Springett, Rowe and Hernandez. With at least Springett likely to be loaned, we would be looking for at least one new winger. If Hernandez went, we'd want another who would potentially be happy being rotated in and out with younger up coming players like Rowe. Honestly, in that scenario, I couldn't think of anyone better than Hernandez.

[Capt. Pants 4,271]

10 minutes ago, chicken said:

Hahahaha... I mean, oh well. Getting the "hump" is hardly going to win them a new contract is it?

So why hasn't he been offered a new contract then?

And if he has why hasn't he signed it and the club announced it in a big fanfare?

It will be interesting to see which way Webber jumps on this one, but he won't be doing either until he's good and ready and it's certain we won't be in the Premier League.

 

[wcorkcanary 4,337]

19 minutes ago, chicken said:

I think it depends on a lot of things. Firstly we'd need to sign someone who offers the same skill set AND is better. I wouldn't say Dowell/Tzolis are the same for example, Rashica possibly. It also depends upon how the squad will look next season - who will still be here and who might be loaned to get more experience.

Finally, some folks have touched on the squad aspect with what he brings in attitude and positivity... There is of course, another edge to that. Anyone else think that Onel has helped with Sara and Nunez coming and settling in? If we are to be recruiting more from the 'Americas', especially Central and South America, Onel could be an important ingredient to helping them settle in.

I think at the very least, he is a handy squad player at this level. He was also one of the few to come out of the "project restart" with any real credit. Folks have written him off due to being injured and loaned out for the two prior seasons to this - but one has to remember we had Cantwell and Buendia ahead of him at the time, and then Rashica and Sargent.

With Sargent being identified as a striker now. Buendia and Cantwell already moved on. Rashica likely to move on in the summer. Placheta not as good as him and possibly moved on as well. We would be left with Tzolis, Springett, Rowe and Hernandez. With at least Springett likely to be loaned, we would be looking for at least one new winger. If Hernandez went, we'd want another who would potentially be happy being rotated in and out with younger up coming players like Rowe. Honestly, in that scenario, I couldn't think of anyone better than Hernandez.

Fair enough, given the choice id upgrade but wont lose sleep if he stays another few years. .... that wont bode well for our progression though ...unless of course hes nowhere near the team. 

[chicken 2,640]

3 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

So why hasn't he been offered a new contract then?

And if he has why hasn't he signed it and the club announced it in a big fanfare?

It will be interesting to see which way Webber jumps on this one, but he won't be doing either until he's good and ready and it's certain we won't be in the Premier League.

We don't know that those things haven't been done. It may also be a formality to just cross the t's and dot the i's. Not all new contracts are announced straight away.

I believe Kenny said about his contract that it had been sorted out for some time. It could be the club waiting to see where they are. If we were to get promoted, I'm sure they may have a different view on how long a contract might be offered for. It may also be that someone like Rashica may wish to stay and have another shot (just an example, not saying it would happen, or we would want it to).

Plus, we can't forget that Wagner has been here for 11 games, he was pretty quick to say that he liked both but wanted them to earn new contracts. That sounds to me a lot like those contracts had been formulated by at least the club, but that Webber had essentially left it up to Wagner to decide whether or not to give them his blessing.

Again, the fact that they are being mentioned like that would at least suggest to me that there has already been some dialogue one way or another. 

[chicken 2,640]

4 minutes ago, wcorkcanary said:

Fair enough, given the choice id upgrade but wont lose sleep if he stays another few years. .... that wont bode well for our progression though ...unless of course hes nowhere near the team. 

I think the issue we have right now is that we are in transition and could be looking at areas we'll be forced to invest in. We can't really afford to invest in back up players if we have even just half decent ones already here. There is a lot still up in the air mind you.

Lets take Dowell and Hernandez out of the equation for now as we know both have been told to go and earn new contracts.

Lets use @Feedthewolf's contracts post again.

Quote

2023 Pukki, Byram, Hernandez, Sinani, Martin, Dowell, Rose (+1), McGovern, Hayden (loan), Marquinhos (loan) (10 players, 1 with an extra year)

Pukki has been offered a new contract and has said he will decide upon that in the summer. Is that his way of deflecting attention from himself with his decision already made? Either way, we could be looking at needing another striker. Preferably one with some experience - Idah, 22, and Sargent, 23, still lack that despite number of games.

Sinani and Martin are gone, and to be fair, probably won't need replacing at all. We assume Rose's contract will be extended - maybe even a new one offered? Hayden and Marquinhos will likely be gone too. McGovern may well retire and go into coaching. 

So in this bunch we would possibly looking at a new 3rd choice keeper, a new striker and a defensive midfielder with physical presence. The latter two being of top priority IMHO.

The next bit is possibly even more interesting.

Quote

2024 Aarons, McCallum, Płacheta, Krul, Mair, Barden (+1), Gibson, Giannoulis, Sørensen (+1), McCracken (10 players, 2 with an extra year)

I say that because all of those players will be entering the last year of their contracts. At which point a choice of three decisions are to be made; 1) offer a new contract? 2) Sell? 3) Neither of the former but keep them for their last season until their contract runs out?

I'm not sure Aarons is as clear cut as people think, though he does stand out as one that we could get money for. A lot of decisions need to be made.

The reality is though, we could be left with one right back at the club in Mumba - who many seem to feel is better further up the pitch. We could also lose Giannoulis, which would mean we need a full back for either side.

You would think that offers for Placheta are likely to be entertained. Mair, Barden and McCracken are all keepers, one might step up to be 3rd choice I suppose.

New contract for Krul? Unless offer comes in that we can't turn down. What do we do with Gibson?

My personal view is that we need a DM, new CB and are likely to be looking at a new striker and full back or even full backs plus a winger. Much depends upon what has already been agreed in terms of players being allowed to go / put up for sale and new contracts for others.

We certainly won't be in the market to replace entire departments of our team. Onel could be our only 'senior' wide player left at the club, which is why I think they would offer him a new contract.